we with the groups who have now taken over in syria.— taken over in syria.rom a guest a _ taken over in syria. we had from a guest a little - taken over in syria. we had from a guest a little while i taken over in syria. we had i from a guest a little while ago that turkey has been a key player, talking to some of the armed opposition groups, and russia does have a relationship with turkey. we obviously don't know what the back channels for discussion are, but one assumes that there are lots of lines of communication at least being attempted right now.- attempted right now. yeah, absolutely. _ attempted right now. yeah, absolutely. russia - attempted right now. yeah, absolutely. russia has - attempted right now. yeah, absolutely. russia has a - absolutely. russia has a relationship with turkey. not always an easy relationship. the relationship between president erdogan and president putin has had its ups and downs over the years, to put it mildly. but, yes, moscow has made it clear... i think there was a statement from the foreign ministry today that made it

they are celebrating what they are calling a free syria. and richard, it is hard to overstate just the stunning speeds at which the rebels have advanced and it which the regime appears to have collapsed, just taking our viewers back for a second, 2011, the arab spring, syrian protesters rise up peacefully against bashar al assad. they are protesting, as people all across this region were. aside used force to try to crush those protests. it led to the outbreak of the civil war. years and years of absolutely brutal fighting. and then the front lines appeared to freeze in 2020. the syrian rebels appeared to have been pushed into a small pocket up in the northwest of the country. aside, with a lot of help from russia, from iran, from the air ready and packed military group hezbollah, seem to have won this war. that was the status quo that held for about four years, until just about 10 days ago and collapsed in spectacular fashion. the rebels burst out of that pocket in northwest syria. they have been paying very close attention to the global po

— trips out of syria? well, beyond _ trips out of syria? well, beyond the _ trips out of syria?l, beyond the isis or - trips out of syria? well, beyond the isis or the l trips out of syria? well, - beyond the isis or the counter isis operation, they are supporting the stf watch over these camps, essentially, where families and relatives of isis fighters and even children are, and they are in the tens of thousands. the other part is, they are providing determines thatis they are providing determines that is defending the syrian democrat in forces and their civil administration in orth east syria. should they withdraw not only will we have less of an ability to respond to any re—emergence of isis and it let alone figure out what to do with all these families that are in these camps, we are risking an outright confrontation between turkey, the syrian opposition, the syrian arab opposition, as well, other groups, versus kurdish militias, and i hope that can be avoided. there obviously needs to be a resolution. this is not sustainable. i want to be very clear about this. you cannot h

not both from iraq and from syria. but this time around, it appears that the narrative doesn't have a fairy tale ending uh for the, for the one inside. of course, the statement released today clearly indicates that there one has finally faced the music and accepted the harsh reality of the current situation in syria. of course we're going to do is go back to 2019 when the former siri present about y'all, us that he actually describe his country as a mike for cost of world war $3.00. and now look where we are today. all right here is up to the audience are wrong. i'm at least bureau chief marie if an ocean an interest on both of you. thank you. say well, depending on it says it will keep its boots on the ground and serious, i think a new potential threat from isis. but keep in mind, isis never attacks america, nor is riley assets and the rich. certainly the us presence in syria is intended to ensure the and during the fi devices with our partners in the rockies security forces, with our partners in syria, with the syria

long live syria. well moments before opposition fight as to control of damascus airport, open source flight truck as opposed to a single plane in serious space and illusion. 76, across in flight number 3 and 9218 was the last flight to take off from damascus. first it for east bennett to north a few minutes late. it's signal disappeared. as it circled over pumps. that's what syria is. prime minister said his government's ready to handle the power to any leadership chosen by the people on a few minutes. you know, i do, i'm here at home. i am not leaving and i don't intend to leave. i expect in a peaceful manner to guarantee the continuity of the public authorities and the institutions and state apparatus and to guarantee the safety and security for all citizens. and we are extending our hands even to the opposition to extend their hands and gave assurances. they will not cause any harm to any citizens who belong to the syria of ours. what i'll do here, as must mode of the law had, joins us live now fro

~ , ., _ syria? well, let me start by remembering _ syria?? well, let me start by remembering how the - syria? well, let me start by| remembering how the assad regime was actually treating women in syria, because i don�*t think there was anything worse than the assad regime really in the country and ruling the syrian people because conditions for syrians under the assad regime and especially women and marginalised groups were actually like widespread marked by repression and violence and systematic abuse. women have faced all kinds of forced displacement and loss and forced disappearance and attention and all kinds of torture and sexual violence. and they were not even treated well outside of their country when they became refugees. they had very limited access to health care and education. so i�*m just still trying to process what we have been through, and of course we will not agree for any similar conditions to be similar. we don�*t know yet. it�*s only been three days, and we will work for a sustainable political solution for syria, that�

syria >>> good morning. we begin with breaking news today in the syrian government appears to have collapseed after a lightning offensive. people have taken to the streets to celebrate the end of the assad family's 50-year rule on the country. president bashar al assad has fled on a plane but his whereabouts are unknown. until recently, there have been a static division of control between three factions in syria, the rebels, led by the islamist group hayat tahrir al sham, president bashar al assad's forces and kurdish forces. idlib for years has been the last antiregime stronghold in syria. further west into aleppo, syria's second city, taking it in three days. on thursday, it dealt another blow to assad's regime, they pushed south into the city of hama. and yesterday, rebels seized the country's third biggest city homs, having already taken other towns on their advance. now, rebels claim to have captured damascus, president assad's seat of power, the capital, forcing him to flee. alistair bunkall has more.

in syria. syrian forces have surrounded russia's her name and base in the talk you. they say they're searching for a sort of willis shadow says he wants to maintain ties, which with most go, which was a strong ally of the said regime on joins i live by wrestle. so there who is in damascus. russell took us through some of these diplomatic activities as we just mentioned, that the, the foreign minister of kuwait is in damascus. and so 2 is the secretary general of the gulf corporation council. indeed. so this, this visits are extremely important for the new administration and see that because when they took control of the con, through, on december a to say that's one of the top priorities is to have the international recognition . and says that the to on the have seen that a geishas off the vacations visiting damascus and meeting the possible that the top of your shows off the ministration state. but particularly the fact the leader of syria. i'm at a chevron. so as one of the latest business tod

syria has chemical weapons, happening in syria. syria has chemicalweapon5, it happening in syria.hose getting into the hands of tho5e getting into the hands of the rebels, some of whom are affiliated with al-qaeda. syria has a large military, lots of weapons stockpiles, it has an air force, weapons stockpiles, it has an airforce, fighterjets, so air force, fighter jets, so israel airforce, fighterjets, so israelis really, airforce, fighterjets, so israel is really, really concerned.— israel is really, really concerned. , . . concerned. israel is concerned and this also _ concerned. israel is concerned and this also changes - concerned. israel is concerned and this also changes a - concerned. israel is concerned and this also changes a lot - concerned. israel is concerned and this also changes a lot ofl and this also changes a lot of the dynamics that we are seeing in the region when it comes to iran, to lebanon. how do you think israel might try to navigate what is going to happen next? i navigate what is going to happen next?— navigate what is going to happen next? navigate what

there is now a new reality in syria, politically and diplomatically, and syria belongs to syrians with all its ethnic, sectarian, and religious elements. it is the syrian people who will decide on the future of their own country. it is certainly not possible for turkey to turn a blind eye to developments in a country with which it shares a 910 kilometer border, which is for our neighbors syria to attain the peace and tranquility has been longing for 13 years, full serial. under aside plays play the role of a pathway for a while on to establish its cloud, and it's linked to other parts of the resistance nexus. but now that everything has changed in one says the major beneficiary of all these developments is as well. and that is why your mom says that an suspense actually, that is relevant is behind all those incidents. it now has expressed concern over the, the expansion of israel's military activities. and the goal on heights warning that is real 6 to occupy. and actually we occupied those regions, but at the same time, to have one says that there was a sense axis is keeping a close ey

long live syria. on sunday, syria's prime minister, a dress of the nation from his home, urging the opposition to ensure an orderly transition on number. we're extending our hands even to the opposition who are ready, reach out to us and gave us assurances they will not cause any harm to any citizen who belongs to the cereal of ours. despite the historic series of events, the world is now left wondering what's next for the syrian people come to send food and jersey. oh. yeah, sharper below, has moved for most go on rushes, involvements and assets movement. that was to say, when president bush on the side of his family members have arrived at most of the rational somewhere he's gone to the police, the asylum assembled allegedly about 2 inches biography plain from a russian base in the top here. the see we're in a position as opposed to the guarantees the security over from issue basis in natasha and talked to as well as diploma technicians in the country. so while the opposition is series fully a trans

it doesn't involve encroaching into syria _ it doesn't involve encroaching into syria.mal encroachment in id military— very minimal encroachment in id military i— very minimal encroachment in id military i zone between us and the syrians —— demilitarised. many— the syrians —— demilitarised. many attacks against weapons that are — many attacks against weapons that are there, part of the army. _ that are there, part of the army, that fall in the hands of radical— army, that fall in the hands of radical groups that operate in syria — radical groups that operate in syria as _ radical groups that operate in s ria. �* , radical groups that operate in sria. r ~' ., syria. as you know, the united nations is _ syria. as you know, the united nations is very _ syria. as you know, the united nations is very quickly - nations is very quickly criticise these israel strikes. this moment of transition for syria, also been criticised by neighbouring countries including saudi arabia. how do you explain israel's sudden moves in this direction? they mi . ht moves in this direction? they mi

i bring about a democratic and peaceful syria.— peaceful syria.rian — peaceful syria. i think facing the syrian people _ peaceful syria. i think facing the syrian people they - peaceful syria. i think facing the syrian people they need | the syrian people they need help, people do not realise that 80% of the syrian people need humanitarian aid. the country and economy as broken as a result of sanctions and wars. 6 million refugees are outside syria, 8 million displaced people so before we talk about democracy and i would like to see democracy, we need to talk about state building, capacity, nation—building, healing and i hope regional power was not interfere in internal study politics because regional powers do not have the best interest of the syrian people. the syrian people face a very difficult challenge and that does not really capture the challenges facing them, in terms of economy, healing, the scars they feel you have 300,000 people who have been killed from 2011, so you can imagine the challenges facing the syrian people but again i want

let's go back to syria. it is the strategic relationship between a ron and the bush sharla side regime and syria that allows you run to undermine is real security not by direct attack, which has never happened in 30 years of hostility between a ron and israel, but through its proxies in lebanon, such as has by which are supported, armed and trained by iran through syria. the removal of the assad regime will put an end to this dangerous alliance. these really leadership understands perfectly well why defeating a saw. it is now and its interests and even the jake sullivan, the very same official that came out that in the b was it will not put it in syria anymore amid the developments had previously stated in a leak, the e mail that a q is on the washington side know a q in this case stands for, okay, the which we know the very known terrorist organization. now, of course, one can make their own conclusions here, but it does seem that their intentions were never hit. and meanwhile, we have a, a former us army g

group it rampage through syria and rock. right up to the mosque is this group called the higher top . are you asylum or h. c. s wasn't just officially considered a terrorist group by washington. but the european union's agency for asylum's own website also describes them as quote, frequently committing serious human rights abuses, including harassment, assassinations, kidnapping and torture, as well as on lawful detections and civilians and having committed suicide bombings, hostage taking, extortion and assassination. but hey, the western process recently been promoting the scam that this face twisted version of al qaeda is also woke and with its liter saying things and videos like diversity is a strength. you'd think that archive is all the monkey bar proficiency course has been replaced with social justice training or something. the same h t s. liter boot mohammed al giovanni listed as wanted by washington to the tune of a $10000000.00 bounty and under a united nations, arms and cargo since 2013 propelling round of isis h

i was leaving syria. i had been undercover in damascus posing as a tourist, went back into lebanon, and i never imagined this moment would come when we would be driving through this border with no one from the regime to stop us the scene at that border crossing, as we pass through it again, it was already dark, already past curfew very, very quiet and just nothing like we've seen it before. the only real evidence we saw, wolf, of any struggle to finally take damascus to finally ouster bashar al-assad, was a tank in the road below a torn poster of president or i should say, former president bashar al-assad. and wolf, my cameraman, scott mcwhinnie, just found this on the ground, literally, as we were listening to that clip, this is the old flag of the syrian regime, which has two green stars, the rebel's flag has three green stars, but this one has now been literally we just found it on the floor. i guess a real moment where you see how much things have changed just in the past 24 hours. >> well, russia has

syria and people, but also the reconstruction of syria. and this is in the interest of both the regional actors as well as the european union or international act. there's that there's stability in the region. so once again, thank you very much for convening this meeting. i'm looking forward to working with you on this principles. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. i think we just kind of level upside into that's it has has stopped us, i'm sure, but i think 0 as a 0 or but to the big one there. so i'll have them give me a place because i've had time to go to the end of the annual to one. what's um, what am i going to give you? i don't know. i do. that's 1 of july i'm into my question is on about like the crimes to be a medium size range of right now. and when i to the deaf ed experience, i'm out of the area and the studio where you take, so it's an accent or you will be simply, it is our think through the security council. another question, by the way, to the circus for the minister natalie. and, and do that to their outcomes, to wha

, the old syria is gone.hat will this bring? is this going to be an opportunity? could this lead to a solution? could this lead to peace or will it lead to chaos and more violence? very much an uncertain day after the rebels took over last night. and, barbara, just in terms of people's day to day existence, obviously, for any state to function and for people to live, they have to be able to get food, water, have access to power, and all that requires a government to keep functioning, doesn't it? in the coming hours and days, do we have any idea how that might play out? we do have some suggestion about it because the leader of the rebels, abu mohammad al—juwlani, issued an order to his forces yesterday. i think it was in which he said that they should not publish. sorry, excuse me. target public institutions, that these were still under the authority of the prime minister and they would need to eventually be officially handed over. so he was stressing there a certain continuity in the civic governing elements

they have zero idea about syria. i ask them that, "have you ever seen syria?"anon. they don't have syrian passports. nationality, syrian nationality, but they consider themselves syrians. and they were telling us that all they hope is that they go back home. they go back to country that they call it still home. some people even comparing the situation when isis took over a part of syria and iraq. despite that, this group has repeatedly said that they are different than isis. but some people here believe that maybe after they gain full power over the country, they will become as radical as isis. and some people don't want to leave under that situation, especially women. they were part of the opposition. they were against bashar al assad also. i talked to them. they were concerned that what kind of the situation they are going to face. and this is not only women that are not, uh, having headscarf. no, women with headscarf also were telling us that they want to make sure that the country will be managed in different ways. they don't want to face another situation

long live syria. on sunday, syria's prime minister addressed the nation from his home, urging the opposition to ensure an orderly transition on number. we're extending our hands even to the opposition who are ready, reach out to us and gave us assurances they will not cause any harm to any citizen who belongs to the cereal of ours. despite the historic series of events, the world is now lift, wondering what's next for the syrian people come to send food and just i'll just here as well. so said i was in damascus where he gains access to the presidential palace. we are at the presidential palace in damascus, where assad's comedy has ruled over syria for becky, this is the political gate off the palace. so somebody has been receiving the ip guess the state dignitaries through this gate. and now this palace of the present, bishop, i said, or for syria and leaving the company and going to moscow and the officer, the position, fight is taken over to the capital. they have rushed into this palace and now it

didn't syria is the product of a joint american. and so i just paused, we have evidence in wrong st. premium pulls down because we're veiling the weston from then syria claiming is the us on this road behind the removal of punishment. all of us not clearing the way is we mr. mill. it tends to take her, but they're not the, the law school he ate down with these really forces, sees it, strategic, blonde and syria. example the tax, hundreds of targets in the nation, taking out navy ships and bases. and the one with the latest celebrate the timeline. syria footage and the genes of civilians being executed on the street the . i will welcome this is all to international with the world news on the day is good to happy with us on top story siri as long time ally iran has spoken now. so you guys could you less than day as well over the alleged road in the dallas full of the war torn country? it wrong. supremely dia, telecom and they made those comments as a address. does nation a novel yet had a deep chat and there should be no doubts what h

will in northern syria.t there are no easy answers for biden, there are no easy answers for trump. but trump always looks for an easy answer. and i think the greatest caution here should be that both biden and trump should take their time on this one. as clint watts told you earlier, this is serious. the worst thing they could do under incoming donald trump is to make this look easy and vik a deal. there's not a deal to make. we don't have any left. >> don, what do you make of the split screen here between the incoming trump administration and biden, who is still president, you know, trying to make statements about this, how difficult is it to form a policy, to react to an event like this when you're on the way out and the new guy isn't quite in the chair yet? >> it's extremely difficult. this the nature of not only presidential but congressional transitions. this is why the american people are best served by electing people who represent stability and who represent some understanding of institutional norms.

long live syria. the footage shows prisoners emerging from one of the capitals, the tories prisons after years spent in detention now the walk free, the at the presidential palace and the west of damascus opposition fighters entered the comp time walking through its corey doors and gardens. you know, move that was unthinkable just a few days ago. the ultimate symbol of a sides power is now standing yearly, quite serious prime minister readdress the nation from his home, urging the opposition to ensure an orderly transition. find any wireless on the office. i expect in a peaceful manner to guarantee the con snooty of the public authorities and the institutions and state apparatus and to guarantee the safety and security for all citizens. and we are extending our hands even to the opposition. will extend their hands and gave assurances they will not cause any harm to any citizens who belong to the syria of ours. jubilation on the streets of homes. serious through the largest city or opposition fighters

the one place where the americans have troops on the ground in syria is eastern syria, where the turkswould be a little surprised if donald trump ramps up the american troop presence in order to fight for syrian kurdish autonomy — that seems a little hard to imagine. right. and just on that base — and shannon, to bring you back in here — hundreds of american boots on the ground, much to do with countering the islamic the islamic state, some deterring iran. where do you see the future of that base? is it something that donald trump may take some troops out of syria? i don't think that donald trump take troops out but it's only because he was convinced out of it during his first term. so, donald trump is quite proud of the fact — and i think he set on meet the press last week — that he defeated isis and he defeated isis swiftly, so this is something that he thinks is a good thing to have american troops sort of there, keeping isis at bay. so, you know, i have no view into his military thinking or strategy but i know that he is quite proud of that accomplishment from his first term. let's

certainly, it syria will ve much community? certainly, it syria will very much need — community?ed to _ community? certainly, it syria will very much need to support - community? certainly, it syria will very much need to support and - community? certainly, it syria will. very much need to support and help of the international community, because syria, not syrians, were very much alienated by the because syria, not syrians, were very much ali-by the - because syria, not syrians, were very much ali- - because syria, not syrians, were very much ali— because syria, not syrians, were ve much ali ., ., ., captagon. we heard from some of the n-eole captagon. we heard from some of the peeple speaking _ captagon. we heard from some of the people speaking earlier _ captagon. we heard from some of the people speaking earlier in _ captagon. we heard from some of the people speaking earlier in our - people speaking earlier in our programme that syria is for syrians, it is for syrians to build themselves and lead themselves now. but given what you're saying there, is there a role for an outsi

mr; is happening in syria. my pleasure- _ is happening in syria. ij�*i pleasure.ening in syria. m; pleasure. thanks for having me. wade around the world and across the some other stories in the uk. clean—up efforts are still ongoing, after parts of the uk were battered by storm darragh over the weekend. tens of thousands of people face another night without power, after another day of strong winds. a final yellow weather warning for wind in england and wales expired on sunday evening, as the storm now moves further into europe. west ham say michail antonio, who was seriously injured in a car crash on saturday, has undergone surgery on a lower limb fracture. the striker, who's the club's all—time premier league goalscorer, had to be rescued from his car after the incident in essex. and prince william has helped serve christmas lunch at a homeless shelter, run by a charity he was introduced to by his mother, diana, more than 30 years ago. footage, posted to the prince and princess of wales' x account, showed william joining a long line of volunteers, dishing out par

forces from syria. there was, at that time, you remember, turkey very much involved or very much concerned about the situation in the syria because of the result of the civil war. there was a huge influx of refugees that moved across the border into turkey, particularly, a lot of strain on the turkish system to be able to support them has also been a long-running hostilities between turkey and kurdish forces inside syria. and so, in terms of what happens next, it's interesting because the west is fairly sidelined when it comes to what is happening on the ground now in syria. turkey is going to be a really important player. as well, russia. vladimir putin clearly has just seen his key ally disappear, and rebel forces move on the capital. he will be very concerned about the fate of a significant russian naval base and russian airbase inside syria , presumably he will be wanting to cut deals with whoever does take control inside syria, or else lose strategic bases, which would be a huge loss for russia, gi

what comes next to syria? my thought is cautiously optimistic that the new transition of government to protect all communities, including the twos community in syria, and you don't buy them at that committee now that i saw his fall and we're scared safe because gilani was with oh, no strong, which was considered a terrorist organization of the new model. so that looks like kind of the most i'm nephew and heavy. i see how they're dealing with things on the ground that can do, for instance, when they enter the level, there's been no problem with the other communities. in fact, while ahead of them as us, ma'am, i can swear the i the side did you, how about the life hopes and fee is that are likely to keep people on edge for weeks to come. i was technically not reporting that. all right, let's get you a reminder about top story this as well as the tact case syrian military side, same as strikes and needed to prevent weapons from pulling into hostile hands. its troops of also taking control of a dean militarized of

is a new syria.oke up to a new syria. and while they're not taking a victory lap officially, you can clearly see that what's happening is in line with what turkey wants to happen there. the sort of word of the day from whether it's qatar or syria or wherever it is, is blame assad. it's all assad's fault. he had the opportunity, at least since 2016, when the war in syria went quiet to achieve national unity, to really work towards keeping the country in a positive and forward moving direction. and according to the turkish government, he absolutely failed they said that when they got sort of an inkling and even over the past, you know period, the turkish president had tried to reach out to assad and they had no response whatsoever. they claim that they saw are syria, quote, unquote and the regime decaying and collapsing. they said that even without a practically without a bullet fired, this rebel group led by al-jolani took aleppo and then all the other cities. and now finally damascus. but the turks a

long live syria. the footage shows prisoners emerging from one of the capitals, the tories prisons, after years spent in detention now the walk free, the at the presidential palace in the west of damascus. i position fighters entered the comp time walking through its corey doors and gardens . you know, move that was unthinkable just a few days ago. the ultimate symbol of us saw its power is now standing yearly, quite serious prime minister readdress the nation from his home, urging the opposition to ensure an orderly transition. find any warehouse on i live in my office and i expect in a peaceful manner to guarantee the continuity of the public authorities and the institutions and state apparatus and to guarantee the safety and security for all citizens. and we are extending our hands even to the opposition who extend their hands and gave assurances. they will not cause any harm to any citizens who belong to the syria of ours. jubilation on the streets of homes. serious 3rd, the largest city, where op

he hasn't in syria.s speak now to a senior fellow, director at the future dhs project at the atlantic council thank you for coming on the program. can we start first of all with vladimir putin and bashar al-assad, and what you make about what is happening there right now? >> as your report just said, putin has suffered a major blow. i imagine right now russian intelligence and security leaders are trying to figure out how they might recer from it. it wouldn't surprise me if there were caches of cash, we are going to find out if russia sees syria's new leaders as a source of instability or support. i think it will likely be the former. lewis: why the former? >> the ft that the russian government propped up assad will not be lost on the leaders of the syrian rebel alliance, that has now taken baghdad. in particular, they would be worried that russia might be a fifth column to try to stir up opposition to their role in some number of months. russia has ties mainly into the far west of syria, the minority th

troops based in syria worried about isis potential in syria as well. we'll hear from the president of the united states what he has to say. we'll have live coverage of that coming up. we expect that to happen in a few minutes. we'll be right back with more news cnn heroes on all star tribute find out who will be named the cnn hero of the year tonight at 8:00 on cnn. >> i brought in ensure max protein with 30g of protein. >> those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. here, i'll take that. >> ensure max protein 30g protein, one gram of sugar and a protein blend to feed muscles up to seven hours. >> if you know luxury, it's not just award winning, it's rewarding. saatva mattresses supports all types of sleepers, luxury is handcrafted and assembled in american factories and brought directly to you with our complimentary in-home delivery and setup service, which is why over 90% of customers would recommend saatva to friends and family. saatva luxury mattresses made affordable for over 25 years, lovesac has been rewriting the rules of comfort. >>

but the, the, well, as i told you, syria and the sending people, they want a check, you know, syria because there is 18 different set and celia and religions. so one religion and being the thing that i've got a sense and having a group that solid on that full of tests and see that they might ask for one year, 2 years with no more than that. and then that's kind of mentality, will test in syria to balance solve hypocrisy. should we say european powers that change at all? and as the syrian government was toppled on jihad as most and aries took over. well that now suspending a silent applications from the people looking to flee the was on country concern the powerfully about an influx of microns all over now and so all you contribute, rachel moss and exposing the ivory tower. now the titan syria has its own country with the blessing of the west. after reading and changing syrian president, bashar allah saw a whole new narrative has emerged here in europe. it's time for the syrian refugees to just go back, or at least they can't come here anymore, even if they may have already applied austria,

,, ., ,, in syria? if you look at hts are's policies _ in syria? - in syria? if you look at hts are's policies and they - in syria? if you look at hts| are's policies and they were looking at governing surroundings, they were very stringent on cracking down on people into the islamic state imprisoning them or killing them. they will not have any interest or on to free prisoners who actually have anything involved in islamic state. and also of course, there are still lots of islamic state prisoners being held also in the north—east so i don't, there won't be an interest in wanting to release those and for those who are foreigners in particular, i am sure there are some who are in prison that were run by the regime, it is going to be a question of comedy return of those people to their home country or do you actually put them through a fair trial under a new hts led government? a big question of uncertainty. government? a big question of uncertainty-— uncertainty. really, really interesting _ uncertainty. really, really interesting to _ uncertainty.

if you think that we focused on ukraine and lost syria, no, we didn't lost syria.still have bases in syria. but you don't know what the future of those bases will be? of course, and you don't know. for moscow, the issue of the bases is urgent. a kremlin spokesman said moscow was in contact with what he referred to as "representatives of those forces who now control the situation in syria". it is a dialogue that will decide the fate of russia's military presence there. if russia loses its bases, it will lose its foothold in the eastern mediterranean. president putin had invested heavily in syria. what might the russian elite be thinking about the fall of assad? i think they understand that this is putin's failure. they can't be vocal, they can't say it openly. but this is a precedent, this is an example how the autocratic regime could fail, could fall. as president, bashar al—assad was a regular visitor to moscow. his exact whereabouts now remain a mystery. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. when bashar al—assad was spirited out of syria last week, it was from the r

at that point _ withdrawing from syria. at that point in — withdrawing from syria._ point in time, we had more troops in syria but there have been — troops in syria but there have been no — troops in syria but there have been no internal policy processes on the question. donald _ processes on the question. donald trump was being told no and tired — donald trump was being told no and tired of it and he said enough— and tired of it and he said enoughis and tired of it and he said enough is enough i want to pull these _ enough is enough i want to pull these forces back. persuaded ultimately to keep folks there but i — ultimately to keep folks there but i think if you are looking at the — but i think if you are looking at the next few months, what to expect _ at the next few months, what to expect his — at the next few months, what to expect his trump comes in if you — expect his trump comes in if you probably think a really good — you probably think a really good hard look at that residual presence — good hard look at that residual presence and determine is that needed

syria is exhausted from the war. _ too strong? syria is exhausted from the war.xhausted from the war. regardless of. from the war. regardless of whether israel is a strong —— regardless of israel a strong or not. syria needs to get stronger and more developed. we don't have any plans to attack israel. syria will not be a threat to israel or to anyone else. ~ ., ., threat to israel or to anyone else. ., ., ,, ., else. what about the russian bases? do — else. what about the russian bases? do they _ else. what about the russian bases? do they stay, - else. what about the russian bases? do they stay, do - else. what about the russian bases? do they stay, do they go? bases? do they stay, do they io? ., ., ,, ., bases? do they stay, do they go? syria and russia have a strategic — go? syria and russia have a strategic relationship. - go? syria and russia have a strategic relationship. we i strategic relationship. we can't end it quickly. and we want to develop ourjoint strategic interests in the future. any relationship will be focused on syria's own interests, security

uh, syria on behalf of h t. s, a i a to her action is, is quite right when he says that the syrian people can sustain another war. i mean, they've had it and they're certainly not going to go to war against israel at this, at this stage. on the other hand is rarely so look at the very weakness of the new regime and they ask themselves, well, suppose there are splinter groups a more radical jo, hottest or as long as to who really want to take on israel and flip some damage on it. or drive drugs really blood and that's they have to, they have to take that view i, i would have thought. so what they're doing right now is establishing a buffer zone, or extending a buffer zone between israel and, and, and syria, in the hope that this will give them some, give israel, more strategic depths against these kinds of privatized threats. this is a so you what you're saying, that resistance advise trying to cut off has the law from getting it supplies through syria as well. i think that's, that's effectively done. i think wha

planning for syria's new future.ebel fighters say they're working to form a transitional government, a day after they toppled bashar al—assad. the hunt for syria's hidden prisoners. rescuers search for secret underground cells — scenes of torture and execution under the assad regime. thousands of syrians queue to return to their country from neighbouring lebanon and jordan where many had been exiled. the musical emilia perez tops the golden globes nominations for the 2025 awards. now with all the latest sport, here's tanya arnold. the final game of the english premier league weekend takes place later, as west ham face wolves. bothjulen lopetegui and gary o'neil are under pressure over their teams form this season, and defeat for either manager could see them lose theirjob. but despite the uncertainty over his future, matters on the field are the focus for o'neil. i am not concerned about my future at all, only the club's future. i knew the size of the task when i took over. it is not often that managers walk out on p

let's turn now to syria.eard testimony from syrians who fear for their lives, after the ousting of president assad, and from those whose relatives were gassed by his regime, and who've been too afraid to speak out, until now. the country appears stable for the moment. the main islamist rebel group in charge has appointed an interim prime minister, and even asked some civil servants to go back to work. mohammed al—bashir said it's time for stability and calm, after more than a decade of civil war. but how long will that calm last? there's mounting concern about israel's bombardment of hundreds of syrian sites in the last few days, with the united nations' special envoy to syria calling for israel to stop the strikes immediately. israel says it is trying to stop weapons from falling into the hands of extremists and ensure its own security. we will have more on those strikes shortly, but we start our coverage with our international editorjeremy bowen, who reports on the winners and losers of the downfall of pres

so attacks on civilians on the civilians in syria. so we really don't know what's going to happen in january. but i think that there is a great opportunity for us to add to forget about the smoke but just kind of dreams and to get down. drill business and okay, try to reach out to our realize, let me, let me bring in the summer once again, talk to somebody about the opposition in syria, the new administration, and how it's is going to deal with these. what we're currently seeing these expansionist plans off is ro, inside syrian territory. as think the power dynamics currently are quite complex. and there is a huge need to sort of re for him to, to spend. and i to try to ensure that there is a so the introduction of power within syria. this is obviously very much complicated by i b is really aggression because it forces the continuation of our image. and we're seeing sort of huge fragmentation as well within the groups that have thoughts on to the top of the regime. because a lot of these groups have not been ideologically aligned. dav

the former president of syria, already the former president of syria, bashar al-assad, is in moscow and has received asylum in russia. this was reported by tass with reference to the sources in the kremlin. assad and his family members arrived in moscow, and russia granted them asylum for humanitarian reasons the sources said cnn's fred pleitgen is in moscow with more from there. >> russia has granted former syrian leader bashar al-assad and members of his family asylum. a russian source tells cnn. and the russians are saying that they are doing this on humanitarian grounds. the russians, of course, for a very long time, were one of the main backers of the assad regime. and it seems as though right now as assad has fallen, they have now allowed for him to come here to moscow and stay here. this really came after a day on sunday where the whereabouts of the former syrian leader were very much unknown, very much in question. the rebels who entered damascus said that he had fled, but it was unclear where he was. and it was actually the russians who first confirmed that assad had left power

does have a presence in syria.hat we do have a full screen to show you where we have bases and troops, and it's also interesting to hear, you know, that you have president biden and president-elect trump on the same page when it comes to syria, because president biden has stated in recent days that he has no intentions of intervening in in this and, of course, president elect trump also posting on truth social overnight that the u.s. should not get involved, but tell us the implications for the u.s. and what this means for the u.s. presence there right so basically, amara, there are uh, the 900 or so american troops in syria. >> they're based primarily at a place called al-tanf at the confluence of not only where syria is, but also where iraq and jordan meet, where those borders come together. so the primary mission of those u.s. forces is to go after isis and there is also of course, there's some small uh, forward operating bases that are associated with the fight in kurdistan and the kurdish portion of syria. and

long live syria. on sunday, syria's prime minister, a dress of the nation from his home, urging the opposition to ensure an orderly transition on number. we're extending our hands even to the opposition who are ready, reach out to us and gave us assurances they will not cause any harm to any citizen who belongs to the cereal of ours. despite the historic series of events, the world is now left wondering what's next for the syrian people from this includes. and just a lot of correspondence data hold on has been in the syrian capital as people take in the news about us that she says there's a mix of jubilation. i'm concerned for the future. yes, i report from damascus as we are in damascus. what's was the power of president? and i said his role is now over. the opposition has taken control of the capital for the past 10 days. the rebels pushed from there a strong hold in the northwest of the country, making their way south through the masters, while double guns common carrier, also made their way toward

is this the stories moments to syrians and they full that know the new syria would be a syria, that much thieves. right. so as you say that we're looking at seems from outside of the most as well. we can see a calm, very slowly, making its way through the crowd so that we can bring those pictures up on the screen as well. and start from outside of the image most, where we can see that come moving through the crowd. as you say, hey, the head of the new administration, sir, ask, what else is, do we want the perhaps he might be in that call with those things, thousands of people from okay to was this his start most because it is as you say, a historic movement daniel, really bringing us a sense of the joy of the momentous occasion day. you saying that the syrians have found the voice, we can hear russell them johnson perhaps you can tell us most is is that people are saying well, here's one of the new slow. this is, is almost done here. yeah. i'm to free them terms. a set terms of the month will be good. the homeless middle of these people heading away from the home, cities the excel, they

well, is that no less a who governs syria? washington continues to view the go to nice as a by to buffer zone to sick you. every country has the right to take action against terrace organizations in every country, i think would be worried about a possible vacuum that could be filled by terrorists organizations for the 2nd thing that is important is that israel has said that these actions are temporary to defend its borders, these are not permanent actions. they describe what the temporary would look like is the 6 month i'm year. i'm just not really. i'm not going to get into those diplomatic conversations. the long as the thought is in power in syria. and as long as ron is present in syria, there is a significant threat to israel and control over the goal on remains of real important to is real security. okay, well wait a 2nd that, that again, tries to split hairs you recognize is really sovereignty over the go. i don't know our policy on that has not changed. sovereignty is that contingent upon sovereignty itself, but conting

oh, is syria? day job is what you're going to do, of course, and i mean we can say that maybe the previous examples were from different administrations, maybe something is going to change. but then again, with the trump administration, it seems like donald trump, it goes similar sentiments to that because in an interview we remember the donald trump stated that both us troops are going to remain in syria. and the reason behind that is because both syria is full of oil and he says it's on, on, on the document that he is there for the dfcs is going to stay there for the oil. now he also confirmed that he indeed wanted to quote, take out. i said, i would rather take, get them out. i could add it. well, set matt as didn't want to do it matters who is a highly overrated general. so i gave her a devices after he was gone, i get, i did a great job, but i, she is a 100 percent of the caliphate. got rid of them, took out, sell a many as you know, took out al bag, daddy. you know what i did? i left the troop